Guatemala asks well-known Swedish ambassador and whistleblower Anders Kompass to leave, accusing him of meddling in their affairs

On Thursday, Guatemala asked Sweden to remove its ambassador Anders Kompass from the country, following his announcement of Sweden’s financial support for a UN-backed commission investigating corruption in the Central American country, according to Reuters.

Venezuelan diplomat Elena Alicia Salcedo was also asked to leave.

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In a statement following the decision, Guatemala's foreign ministry said Anders Kompass and Elena Alicia Salcedo Poleo “assumed attitudes that result in interference in the internal affairs of Guatemala,” and that the ministry would wait for the Swedish and Venezuelan governments to appoint new ambassadors.

At a later press conference, Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel further elaborated on the decision:

“You all know perfectly well that at one point, Ambassador Kompass called all of Guatemalan society corrupt, and that’s not something we accept, nor will we tolerate, because that’s not how it is,” she said, adding that “bilateral relations will continue.”

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During the ceremony in January when Sweden donated funds to the commission, Anders Kompass did make mention of “a corrupt society,” according to Reuters, but added that it would be incorrect to say that all of the Guatemalan culture was bad.

So far, the Swedish Foreign Ministry has not commented on the matter.

Anders Kompass became well-known as a whistleblower for exposing sexual abuse of children in the Central African Republic committed by UN peacekeepers. In 2015 he was suspended by the UN but was later fully exonerated from allegations of leaking confidential documents.

In 2016, Anders Kompass resigned from his position as director of field operations at the UN Human Rights office in Geneva.

He was appointed Sweden’s ambassador to Guatemala in the fall of 2017. Anders Kompass came to Guatemala in 1975, shortly after his high-school graduation, as an exchange-student, doing volunteer work in an indigenous community.